The Chosen of the Old Ones
by FireWolfFred
Summary: The slan have a prophocy that a human boy with the mark of the Old Ones will be the only person who can stop the next chaos invasion of the Old World. William had no idea of any of this but now he is thrown into the harsh life of an adventurer.
1. Chapter 0

Terrible screams pierced through the sounds of metal hitting metal. The ground was soaked in blood, ranging from red to blue to black to green. Bodies scattered the dessert like area, dead faces twisted in pain fear and anger, gazing around unseeingly.

Creatures and humans fought in a melee maelstrom. Hundreds of colours separated the warriors. The Emperor's army from the Empire battled along side with the knights of Bretonia and the dwarfs from every stronghold they still possessed. The huge brutish Orcs and the vicious ratmen of the Skaven killed anything they came in contact with. Outnumbering all these armies put together was the unbeatable Chaos hordes. Beastmen ran rampant through the battle, hardened chaos warriors destroyed all in their path and monstrous daemons howled and gibbered as they mutilated their foes. Harpies and gyrocopters circled the battle in the air along with mighty griffons.

A young white haired warrior hacked down one of the beastmen then dodged a blow from a large orc swinging a crude cleaver. His sword glowed fiercely as he lunged it into the creatures heart. His breath was coming in rasps and sweat blinded him. The battle had been going for over a solid hour and all of the humans looked ready to drop, dead on their feet.

The warrior had strayed to far from his allies. Beastmen had somehow fully surrounded him. For every one he killed another two seemed to take its place. One swung at him and his arm was to tired to block the blow in time. The axe descended towards his skull but never made it.

A strange sound filled the air. Stood over the beastman's body was a dwarf with a large crest of hair dyed orange and a elongated metal lute in his hands. The creatures head looked collapsed from a hit of the lute.

There was no time for thanks as a monstrous jagged black broad sword shot into the man's view. He parried through instinct then turned to see his new foe. It was a black armoured chaos warrior, a Lord. It had a daemon face mask over his real face, his armour was inscribed with dreadful runes and leering faces. It stood four heads higher than the white haired warrior and looked twice as broad.

It took every ounce of energy that the white haired warrior had to defend the attacks of the chaos Lord. The chaos warrior began to grow bored with his feeble opponent in three quick attacks blood sprayed out from the human's body.

Time seemed to slow for the white haired warrior. He watched the black blade pass through his flesh, releasing a heavy red mist to spay from the wounds. He dropped his own sword in pain as he watched his blood pool around his feet. His eyes slowly traced the battle field. The orange haired dwarf, with whom he had travelled with for a long time and had many adventures with, hung limply in the grasp of a mutated troll. Further back was the huge corpse of a dinosaur that the white haired warrior had rode into battle on and had killed many foes with. A million bodies littered the ground, millions more still fought. The remaining humans battled on desperately dispite the overwhelming odds.

"Damn it!" muttered the white haired warrior as he fell to his knees. "The world is doomed. Chaos has finally won." The chaos Lord laughed manically as he delivered the final killing blow.

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_This is a taster of the climax of the story to show that it gets good. Read on and review if you want to read the whole thing. Enjoy the story._


	2. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone and welcome to my new fanfic. The first few chapters are a prelude to the main story so please bare with it if they seem boring to begin with. When the story gets going it will have a chaos invasion, some kick-ass dwarf slayers and a whole wealth of battles and adventures._

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Many men have ventured into the vast, disease ridden, dangerous creature infested jungles of Lustria. Tales of gold turn many men's hearts and few tales of gold are greater than those of the ancient jungle. Few of those men are ever seen or heard of again.

Rumours speak of things more terrifying than the carnivorous and poisonous plants and beasts. Monstrous being stalked the trees with the appearance of man like lizards. If any travellers survived deadly diseases, poisonous bugs and the man eating plants and beasts, they would be ripped to shreds by the vicious lizard men. It is the most hazardous continent outside of the lands of chaos.

No men ever returned to the families and friends they left behind.

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William Jonek was the young child of a man who left for the jungle to find riches so his family could live happily rather than in squallier. Two years had passed and not a word of William's father had been heard. Will still lived in his small house with his mother in the Norse town of Skeggi on Lustria's edge. The jungle lay to one side of the town while the sea at the other.

Will was now six years old and didn't understand why his father had left him. Back when he was still around life was good. No one picked on him and he felt protected. Now all this had changed.

When Will was born, while most babies had thin black, brown or blond, he had purest white. It was unheard of among humans. As he grew older the hair stayed white. It didn't matter to Will when his father was around. He acted like a barrier between Will and the harsh, cruel world.

Without his father, the towns people's words struck like flaming daggers. They called him a chosen of chaos. Picked by the very gods of chaos from birth to grow up and cause destruction and death. The adults shunned him and the children picked on him. His little life was miserable. His mother tried but she had to work constantly just to keep them under a roof with food on the table. Will wanted his daddy back.

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So he decided to go and bring him back. His infant mind didn't understand that his father was gone forever and if he tried to follow then he would be to. He just saw it as his dad couldn't find his way back and needed a helping hand to show him back.

His little legs jogged into the jungle at the dead of night while everyone else was asleep. Will didn't fear the dark, he preferred it over the light so he felt no fear as Skeggi left his vision, replaced by tropical trees and other plants. The moon soon vanished, as did the stars as the canopy formed its own sky.

The ground was thick and muddy, the air was hot and humid and felt like a liquid while the whole area was alive with the sound of the beasts and bugs.

Time lost all meaning as Will walked. He couldn't tell if he had been walking for mere minuets or many hours. Will felt ready for sleep when he realised he didn't know his way back. He wondered round in circles then when he saw he was making no progress he did the only thing that came to his head. He sat down and cried.

After a few minuets had passed and no one had come to him, he knew no one would. He dried his eyes with his mud encrusted hands then rose to his tiny feet. Crying was going to get him no where. He plodded forwards calling "Daddy" as loud as his little lungs would let him.

On and on he wandered. He was tired, hungry, scared and wanted nothing more then to be in his mothers arms. Still he kept walking though, he was brought up in a Norse settlement after all, he was trained never to quit.

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Little did William realise that hungry eyes stalked him from the undergrowth. The creature had been following him for a while now and knew the child was easy prey. Gradually it had become bored with following the child and its hunger was becoming overpowering. Its scaly blue hand grasped a wooden tube from its side, drew it to its teeth filled mouth and blew into it. The child didn't know what hit him.

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Will felt something sharp pierce his skin. He let out a sharp whimper and clutched his stinging side. Sweat started to run across his flesh and all strength was drained from his limbs and his mind. He resisted with all his little might but it was no good. He collapsed to the ground and after a momentary spasm, lay motionless.

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_Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Like I said it may seem boring to begin with but it will pick up. Please review so I know I have some readers and therefore have motivation to write._


	3. Chapter 2

_Second chapter up, I hope you enjoy. This is the last introduction chapter, the next will see the main story get underway. Please review._

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Darkness met William as he opened his eyes with a small yawn. The air was humid and silent. The last thing the young boy remembered was looking for his daddy in the jungle, then he got lost, felt a sharp pain in his side then woke up here.

Light entered the room as a door slid open. William couldn't see anyone behind it. After a few moments of hesitation he decided to go and take a look. His feet plodded across the hard stone floor. The door led to a corridor that headed both up and down.

A shadow moved at the top of the corridor. William's first instinct was to run in the opposite direction but another stronger part forced him up the gentle ramp. It continued skywards for what seemed hours. A blinding light became visible at the top. William emerged into bright daylight and a cool breeze. He was on top of some kind of ruined temple that overlooked the endless jungle. It was like a vast green carpet beneath him. Reptilian birds flew lazily above the trees searching for prey.

"Welcome." boomed a voice that had no location. It seemed to have come from within his own head. He looked around and almost fell as he noticed a large bloated frog like creature staring at him. It sat in a huge stone throne that hovered slightly off the ground.

"Do not fear, young one." boomed the voice in his head again. The frog was the only creature in sight yet its lips did not move and the sound wasn't coming from its direction.

"W-who are you?" asked William.

"I am Tenq-Tehe, second generation of Slan." The frog still sat perfectly still. It had a deep intellectual look in its tired eyes.

"H-how are you t-talking to me?" asked the near terrified toddler.

"I communicate via your brain waves so that you will understand me. If I spoke aloud you would understand nothing. Anyway don't be rude, introduce yourself young manling."

"My name is William, sir." the boy decided to act like he was speaking to a teacher or other important adult as he was unsure how he should speak to a giant magic frog.

"William. Humph." the Slan closed its eyes for a few long moments then opened them slowly. "Why do you have white hair young one?"

"I don't know. Everyone tells me the Dark Gods of Chaos chose me at birth. They say when I grow up I will kill them all if I am not careful. Many say I should be killed before this happens." whimpered the boy, a tear rolling down his cheek.

The Slan made a noise that could have been bitter laughter. "Your case is quite the opposite, young one." He paused again. "Long ago the Slan had a prophesy that foretold of an unstoppable chaos invasion that would destroy everything in the world. It could only be stopped if a human warrior chosen of the Old Ones, creators of this world and its original inhabitants, came forwards to fight against the evil forces and travel into the very depths of the chaos wastes to close the rip in reality that the chaos forces drew their powers from. That person would be marked out by the having purest white hair. That is you."

William just stood there, eyes unseeing. His mind was racing with the Slan's knowledge. He was going to be a hero. Just as he began to feel superior to everyone else in the world terror struck him. He would have to fight the servants of chaos. He toppled onto his behind and began to cry.

"Do not worry about that which is not yet upon you. Many years have yet to pass before your destiny is laid out before you. All you have to do in the mean time is survive and grow strong." said the Slan in a soothing tone.

William nodded his little head in understanding.

"Come now young one, rise to your feet." William did as instructed. One of my assistants will guide you back to your settlement."

From behind the Slan's throne came a light blue lizard about the same size as William but much thinner. It made some clicking sounds with its tongue then walked over to the boy. It clasped William's small hand in its smaller ones and led him back down the ramp he had come up by. Soon he re-entered the daylight, this time at the base of the Aztec style temple.

The lizard man led William through seemingly endless trees, never letting go of his hand. They walked for hours, turning this way and that, stopping occasionally to rest. The lizard man picked a handful of blue berries and gave them to the boy. To show they were edible the lizard ate one himself.

The sky began to grow dark and stars could be seen in gaps in the leaves. More hours past then suddenly William spotted a human building in the distance. The lizard man released Williams hand and gave the boy an encouraging push towards the building. He ran forwards, wobbling with every step until he exited the jungle and found himself in a place he recognised. He knew his way home from here.

"Hey, chaos worshipper, yer dare show yer face back here. We finally thought we'd lost you." growled a drunken man who William vaguely recognised. He drew a dagger and advanced upon the boy. "Time to finish you, scum." he spat before collapsing to the floor with a dart in his neck. William noticed the Lizard holding a blow pipe before it retreated back into the jungle.

Tiredness drained the small boy of energy. He would have slept right were he was if there wasn't such danger. Instead he plodded the familiar path towards his home and his mum. When he arrived there he found his mum asleep on the floor, tears staining her face. He lay down with her, wrapping his arms around her then instantly drifted off into sleep.

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Thirteen years had passed since Williams encounter with the Slan. He had changed a lot in that time. He now stood nearly as tall as the Nord warriors that could be found within the town. His hair was still as white as pure snow but it had grown in length.

After he had learned of his destiny he had taken his life very seriously. He had trained nearly constantly since he was five and it told. His muscles were profound and

his skill with a sword great. He had risen into the top class in swordsmanship and although he wasn't the best he was still a worthy opponent to most within the town, including the adult warriors.

He had also used any resources available to research the lizard men. He had learned all the knowledge in the town.

In other areas he was not as skilled as with a sword. Still he managed to be in the second class for his other lessons. All in all he was a pride to the Nords. Or would have been if it wasn't for his hair and the belief of his association with the Dark Gods. His survival of the jungle back when he had met the Slan didn't help this belief as most grown men didn't live.

William had even managed to get the job of black smith apprentice, which was a highly sought after position. He had had to duel another of his class members for the job. Everyone had expected Jaspeth to win, he was top in swordsmanship and his father was a legendary warrior.

William needed the job though. His mother was struggling to pay the bills for the house and unless he stepped in soon they would be thrown onto the street. He also remembered the Slan's words. "Survive and grow strong." What better way to become strong than been a blacksmith's apprentice.

The duel had been tough. Jaspeth was stronger, faster and generally more skilled with a blade. William was determined though. They exchanged a flurry of blows, parrying, slashing, dodging, lunging and blocking. Sweat streamed down his face, arms, legs and back. His breath was becoming ragged. No matter how hard he tried he was still losing. A surge of anger entered his body. His blows became stronger and he began to push back his opponent. With one final mighty swing of his sword he disarmed Jaspeth.

Only "Boos" had greeted his victory. The crowed screamed that the Dark Gods had aided him and that it wasn't a real victory and that Jaspeth should still get the job. Luckily for William the blacksmith was a fair and reasonable man. He said William had won and that was the end of it. William had started the next day.

Life was starting to look good he thought. This quickly left his mind when he saw a lizard man, that he now knew was called a skink, beckoning him into the jungle.

"Just when I was beginning to like normal life here." William muttered to himself. "And it's my birthday tomorrow. So much for a small family celebration.

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_So I hope you enjoyed this. You may have notice its been written in the past tense up till now, that's because its like a look back at how William got into his situation. Next chapter becomes the present tense. Again, please review. It takes you about one minute of your life to send me a review to tell me what you think where as it takes me hours to write a chapter, (yes I know I'm not very fast.) _


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

If it hadn't been for the fact that William had been waiting for this day for many years it might have come as a shock to see the skink beckoning to him from the bushes. His mind raced ahead forming a list of things he needed to do before he headed of into the jungle. He motioned for the skink to wait then ran home.

When he arrived at his house his Mum wasn't there. William wanted nothing more than to embrace her before he left for what could be a long time. He knew he couldn't wait though so instead wrote out a rushed but meaningful letter and placed it upon the table. The few positions he had that would be needed in the jungle were quickly loaded into a rucksack and the time that he had waited for since childhood was finally upon him.

Leaving had been harder than he had ever imagined. In his head for many years he had hated this place with a passion and wanted nothing more than to leave but now that it was time, old memories flooded his head and the attachment to his Mother pulled at his heart and soul but he forced himself on towards the awaiting skink.

The blue lizard was still there. It defiantly wasn't his imagination or a dream like so many prior times. The skink squeaked and clicked its tongue as it held out its small webbed hand. As a child, holding peoples hands had been natural but now it seemed foreign to an older William. Still, he knew how dangerous the jungle was and was unwilling to take any chances so he lightly held onto the cold, wet hand and followed the lizard closely.

The jungle seemed to move around them. William was determined to take note of the path that they took but after five minutes he was sure that he could never find his way back without aid or luck.

The air was painfully humid. William had often camped at the edge of the jungle or in its outskirts to try and familiarise himself to its harsh environment but even so it was near unbearable as their trek continued unceasingly.

They fought their way through the terrain for what must have been hours. The skink travelled forwards with complete ease but even someone fit like William was stumbling, climbing and fighting constantly for every single mud encrusted step.

He was fed an assortment of berries by the skink and with simple sign language it showed William which berries were edible and which were poisonous. There were remarkably more berries that would kill him than there were that would sustain him. Even just touching some varieties was enough to make the skin that touched it sprout mould then drop off, as the skink proved when it rubbed a captured rat against a sickly green berry bush.

Time passed slowly. It was a constant battle for William just to keep moving and he could not talk or even breath heavily as whenever he opened his mouth a horde of buzzing flies tried to invade is body. The skink seemed to have no such problem with the bugs.

A presence grew upon Williams mind the further that he walked. It was like hands that rested atop of his heart and brain, not applying pressure or repressing any thoughts or emotions but just making its presence known. Then without prior warning his mind seemed to explode as millions of thoughts and millennia of ancient knowledge shot into his head. They died down quickly until only one foreign thought remained.

_Welcome, young manling. We are glad that you return to us now as a man rather than the child that stumbled towards his destiny blindly and unknowingly. A man cannot save the world though as a man is just that._

The words were spoken with great slowness. After the words ended William emerged into a small clearing and gazed in awe at the ancient pyramid that rose up high above him. It hadn't changed since his last visit nearly a decade ago. Unlike last time though, the area was not deserted.

Dozens of skinks scampered around attending to unseen matters and a line of large, fearsome looking lizards lined in ranks next to the vast structure. A lizard even larger than them hauled giant rocks out from the jungle edge towards the crumbling structure. Some of the skinks were scrambling across the ancient stones and repairing destroyed sections with the rocks brought by the giant lizards.

_Your coming has put many things into motion._ intoned the mystical voice. _War will soon be upon us so we must be ready. Why may be dying but we will not lay down and die. Come, head to the temple, my body awaits you within._

The skink released his hand and ran off to join the others. William walked cautiously through the clearing towards the temple. The warriors that guarded its entrance growled as he neared but kept their weapons low and their heads bowed. Once inside, William found his way to the upper section with ease. There, waiting for him in slumber, sat the giant bloated frog that had terrified him as a child.

_Do you know why you are here?_

"You want me to save the world." answered William. He honestly didn't have a better answer. A giant physic frog telling him that he was going to save the world sounded farfetched even to him.

_That is true. I do want you to save the world. That does not mean that you will though. Chaos is amassing in the wastes once more, preparing for a third incursion. Each time we are weaker. This time, even the humans and elves will not have the power to stop it. Two creatures from each race, man, elf and dwarf, were chosen to help defeat the chaos. You are one of them._

"Why me though? I am nothing special." breathed William, torn between wonder and rage.

_You are not special, yet. You will train here and either pass or die. If you can not win the first test then you could never win the enemies that await you._

"And what if I choose to ignore you and go back home?"

_Then you will die anyway. Not by us, as we will not stop you should you choose to. Chaos will consume the world and kill all natural life._

"So I have no choice but to win? That's no choice at all!"shouted William angrily. Now that he was here, entering the outside world and fighting for his life and the life of all things good was suddenly a soul crushing responsibility.

_There are two choices. Follow the near impossible road of harsh travel and bone breaking battles where you could die painfully and still lose or possibly win. In contrast, you could not bother which would be easier and suffer no pain until the end. The choice is yours alone._

It still didn't sound like a choice to William. Sit back and die or walk forwards and die. Neither sounded appealing.

"I accept. I do not want to but I cannot sit and do nothing, its just not me. What would you have me do?"

_Upon your exit from this temple there will be a lizard waiting for you. A Temple Guard and my personal bodyguard, Gar-Nox. He will train you for a solid seven days, if you survive that then you should have all the skills needed to pass the three tests I have ready for you._

William bowed low. He wasn't sure how you were suppose to show respect to a floating monster frog so he figured that a bow would be adequate. He exited with his head spinning with knowledge, fear and excitement.

Under the arch that William had entered through stood one of the emotionless looking medium sized lizards. Its blue scales where thick and hard, its fangs sharp and bared while on its head like a helmet was a horned skull. Its eyes were a fierce yellow.

A strange halberd type of weapon was held firmly in it's hands. It was taller than the Lizard and was tipped with a foot long spiked blade that looked to be made of some kind of stone. With the strength of the Temple Guard behind it, the weapon could easily cut a human in half or run one through as easy as a leaf.

The Saurus nodded slightly to acknowledge William's presence before motioning towards a smaller Saurus behind him that held a large sword that was nearly as tall and wide as William himself and had numerous long spikes jutting out from the blade like the Temple Guard's halberd.

There was a second smaller Saurus with a stone sword stood by the first. The Temple guard, Gar-Nox, stabbed his halberd shaft deep into the moist soil then received the offered blade from the Saurus. It held it easily like it was made of some lightweight wood.

William accepted the other blade and it instantly hit the ground, nearly ripping his arms from their sockets. The topmost spike was dug into the ground frighteningly close to William's poorly guarded toes. Using every ounce of his strength the blade managed to rise a few inches from the ground and remain shakily in the air. William's muscles strained, his face was flushed and sweat was already beginning to bead upon his forehead. There was no way in hell that he'd be ably to swing it.

Gar-Nox lashed out without warning, it's blade aimed directly at William's head in a powerful downward slash. Its amazing how when faced with imminent death, facts like maximum strength suddenly disappear. William's blade met with Gar-Nox's inches away from his skull.

The force of the impact shot through every bone in William's body. He fell backwards and his sword dropped to earth where he had been stood. Both of his arms and legs were numb and he had no weapon but that didn't seem to deter his opponent. Gar-Nox swung down. William rolled aside in another reality bending feat. Numb limbs can suddenly move unnaturally fast when staring up at an object seconds away from ripping them to pieces.

"This isn't training! It's a bloody execution!" bellowed William as he scurried away from the Saurus. Gar-Nox ignored his shout and no miracles were provided by intervening gods. He was alone.

The lizard's blade slashed by William's head. Even the last second dodge wasn't enough to avoid all damage. The end spike struck William's ear and took a wedge of flesh with it as it swung away. Blood streamed down into his ear and across his right cheek. If such a small wound caused so much blood then a real wound suddenly was a lot more terrifying to the teen.

A vicious curse was spat from William's lips as he dodged another attack. He rolled to the side towards the abandoned blade but Gar-Nox kicked at his ribs. Blood spurted to the ground with a throat tearing cough that shook William's full body. The air vanished from his lungs and all strength left his body in a wave of sickness.

Gar-Nox stood menacingly over William's prone form. Even the imminence of death wasn't enough to get William moving again. It was over. He'd failed at the first hurdle, killed even before the first test. He was no hero. The world was going to end, all because he still wasn't strong enough.

Hellish pain, that's what William had been expecting. What he hadn't expected was to open his watering eyes to see the Saurus offering a scaly clawed hand to help the human back to his feet. William accepted and was quickly pulled to his feet by the immense strength of the lizard warrior. The hand was cold, like that of a corpse.

_Did you truly think that we would kill off our saviour in so whimsical a way. No, pick up your weapon and try once more._

William did as the Slan's voice instructed. The sword was still ungainly and far to heavy to wield effectively but it felt somehow more… familiar this time. "Bring it on." he grinned at the lizard, a sudden flush of confidence surging through his body.

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The clash of blades rang throughout the jungle like the deranged squawking of some monstrous bird. They were not metallic clangs like swords but nor were they thuds of stone. These blades were truly unique.

For six days the crashes had been near constant, only halting for brief respite sparingly. Six days of almost none stop combat.

William would have been amazed with this feat if he hadn't needed every fibre of concentration to keep moving. He swung his blade again and again like he had done for more hours than he had thought physically possible. His arms should have been unable to move after all the strain they had taken but instead he couldn't stop them. His body had taken to a certain rhythm and if it was stopped he felt sure that he would just crumble.

Gar-Nox hit out particularly hard causing a horrifying crack. At first, William had thought it was his arm breaking under the strain but it was his sword. A large fracture had appeared about quarter way up the blade from the hilt. Another powerful hit and his blade would snap in two.

The lizard struck again and William chose to dodge rather than parry. They circled each other slowly. William was ready to take the upper hand. He drew back his blade to deliver a powerful running slash but there was yet another bang and crack.

Only two foot behind the human was the looming temple of the Old Ones. Upon pulling the blade behind him the two had met and the immovable temple had won. William's blade split and the larger section crashed to the ground.

_You should always watch your surroundings. If this match were real, your death now would be assured._

"I was watching, very carefully." grinned William.

The Temple guard charged him one more and looked to me aiming for a wounding blow to teach the child to be more cautious. William sprinted forwards too. Gar-Nox swung at him but William ducked under it and swung with blinding speed. The top spike of his quarter sized blade bit into the Saurus' side, causing the beast to stumble backwards slightly.

Gar-Nox looked ready to continue the fight but suddenly halted mid swing and lowered it's blade.

_Well done, Manling. Lining up yourself to your surroundings in such a way that it appears you have accidentally broken your own weapon was very cleaver. It lulls your foes into overconfidence while removing most of the weight of your weapon while keeping its ability to kill. The gods did not choose wrong._

Now that the fight was over, the adrenalin seeped from William's body to be replaced by blinding pain. He was in dire need of a good meal and plenty of rest. Dozens of tiny cuts crisscrossed his skin, each draining him of a small amount of blood and leaving him vulnerable to disease. Unable to hold himself up anymore he collapsed into the mud below with a triumphant smile on his battered and gaunt face.


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